San Jose police accused of racial profiling

SAN JOSE

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Three men have filed a $20 million federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of San Jose, accusing police officers of wrongfully arresting them for public intoxication outside downtown bars as a result of racial profiling.

Paul Cicala of Cathedral City (Riverside County), Enrico Sagullo of San Mateo and Erick Sanchez of San Jose, who are Latino, also said they were detained and arrested in separate incidents in 2006 and 2007 outside nightclubs.

San Jose police "assign a cadre of officers with specific assignments to harass people in or near these clubs, with an emphasis on people of color, in an effort to discourage young, nonwhite people from coming to San Jose's downtown area," said the suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Jose.